"Chief of the General Staff," Chen Peng greeted Academician Liu.
"Who is this?" Wen Zhonghua asked, looking at a tall, thin man.
"Chief of the General Staff, this is Academician Liu Bo," Chen Peng said with a smile. "You didn't recognize him, did you?"
"How did you get so thin, Chen Peng? Did you not take good care of Academician Liu?"
"No, no, Chief of the General Staff, it has nothing to do with General Chen Peng. I did it myself. My profile was too obvious, so it's better not to attract too much attention after returning to base. Therefore, I changed my image. Once things have calmed down, I'll quickly gain back the weight."
"Haha, I see. You've thought of everything. Academician Liu, Chen Peng, and comrades, you've worked hard. We're here on the general's orders to bring you home."
"Go home, yes, it's time to go home," Chen Peng sighed.
" Chen Peng, what's wrong? You've become so sentimental. Are you missing me?" Li Zhixiong teased.
"I miss you my ass, hey~~ the Reaper seems a little different?"
"That's right, this is the new generation of Reaper. It has a space cannon, and its Rotating Space Shockwave and Space Barrier have been greatly enhanced. Moreover, its armor has been completely replaced with Academician Li's Fourth Reversed State. Just recently, we beat Li Shun so badly that he ran away with his tail between his legs faster than Rabbit."
"What changes have been made to the base?"
"The base has changed a lot. Now the Alliance has a full ten Small Star Sector Civilization, and their warships are everywhere, blotting out the sun. Of course, they're still a little behind us humans, but it's not bad either. They're a significant asset. You'll see when you get back. The base is incredibly powerful now, it's simply breathtaking. I could hardly believe my eyes when I went back last time. You'd better be prepared, don't be scared."
"Really? Then let's go quickly."
"This... I'm afraid it won't work."
"Why? Did Li Shun bring bugs again?"
"No, it's Mechanical Civilization."
"What Mechanical Civilization? Never heard of it?"
"They only appeared after we entered the Matter River. They come from the Alpha Universe, belong to the Computer Civilization, and are in the early stages of civilization in the Large Star Region. In less than ten thousand years, they have developed from scratch to 5 trillion warships. Not long ago, we encountered the Mechanical Civilization while tracking Li Shun, so we escaped into the Matter River. Now they are lingering outside the Matter River, guarding us, and we can't get out at all."
"Can't you beat them?"
"Billions of Reaper, taken out in less than a day, how can we fight anymore?"
" Alpha Universe?" Academician Liu Bo frowned.
"Yes, that's what they said."
"It seems I need to adjust my vision of the universe."
" Academician Liu, is there a breakthrough in the information you've sent back this time?" Wen Zhonghua asked.
"Yes, there are some, but they're not quite mature yet. Once they're mature, defeating the Mechanical Civilization won't be a problem."
"Really? Then the Insect Race can be dealt with the same way?"
"Theoretically, this would work as long as we have enough warships. But now our enemies are no longer the Insect Race and Mechanical Civilization, but the Great Star Region Advanced Civilization of the galaxy."
"Understood, the secrets Academician Liu possesses must be extremely important."
"Yes, if I didn't miss the base and my family so much, staying in the Matter River would be the best option for me."
"That won't do. Neither the general nor I will agree to it. Just focus on your research. We'll handle these matters. Don't worry about anything."
"Well, to be on the safe side, I'll need to remain hidden for a long time and can't stay on Earth Two or Number Four anymore."
"We had this planned in advance. We will arrange for you and your family to go to the Tree Race planet. The environment there is beautiful, the climate is pleasant, and many people who go there don't want to come back. Besides, Ninety-Seven is there; he will take good care of you."
" The Tree Race's planet is indeed a wonderful place. I've been there a few times and always wanted to stay longer. I never thought I'd finally have the chance."
" Academician Liu, you and everyone else will have to make do for now. You'll be assigned to ordinary warship command or logistics positions. Just pretend to be in charge; leave it to the computers or robots. I brought over a million people here specifically to hide you from the crowd."
"The Chief of the General Staff is very thoughtful. It's indeed not a good place to linger. Let's get to our posts immediately."
Chen Peng and Academician Liu left the command room in less than five minutes. They had sacrificed too much for the fleet. Wen Zhonghua admired these people from the bottom of his heart. However, they could only make silent contributions now. Even the people in the fleet thought that Academician Liu had been lost forever in the Matter River and would never come back.
"Chief of Staff, what should we do now? The Mechanical Civilization's fleet hasn't caught up yet."
"If they chase us in, we'll have a chance to escape. They're not stupid; staying outside is the safest option. Aren't you smart? Think of something!"
"Let me think, let me think... there's an idea we might be able to try."
"Hey, don't let Laozi find out you're lying to me, you've got it so quickly."
"Chief of the General Staff, I wouldn't dare."
"Stop talking nonsense and get to the point."
"Yes, Zhuge Xiong, stop dawdling."
Do you know why there are no insects in the Matter River?
"Stop talking nonsense, if Laozi keep dawdling I'll kick you!"
"Yes, yes, yes, Chief of Staff. The reason there are no insects here is because the Matter River enters the fourth dimension, where there is a super giant insect. One of its legs is over 5,000 kilometers long, and the dimensional attack it creates has a length of 0.2 light-years and a width of hundreds or thousands of astronomical units. I think using it to deal with the Mechanical Civilization's fleet should not be a problem."
Is this worm your grandmother?
" Old Gao, what are you saying?"
"Otherwise what? You tell it to deal with Mechanical Civilization Mechanical Civilization, and it obediently does so?"
"Let me finish, what's the rush? This giant worm not only occupies the fourth dimension, but also dominates the space within several light-years of the Matter River. That's why the worms here dare not set foot in the Matter River. Back then, Li Shun twice sent swarms of worms to hunt us down in the Matter River, but we were both destroyed by this giant worm, and we almost perished as well."
"Now, all we need to do is create the illusion of a large-scale influx of insects into the Matter River. This giant insect will inevitably attack to defend its territory, and in the process, we can wipe out the Mechanical Civilization."
"That seems to make sense. We have Academician Xiao's insect Consciousness Field simulation device. Insects communicate with each other using this. Now, if we mass-produce Consciousness Field simulators, we might be able to attract an attack from this giant insect."